LIKE A CRACKED RECORD

by Jeremy Lee
Surely there can be very few Australians who did not experience a thrill of pride when 150 horsemen, mounted superbly, swept at full gallop into the Olympic arena, each carrying an Australian flag, to mark the opening of the Games. No sooner are the games over, however, than the small gaggle of flag-changers are at it again.

Harold Scruby repeated his usual tirade in The Australian (6/10/2000), under the heading
IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU HIT THE ROAD, JACK, with an opening paragraph full of wishful thinking:
"According to John Howard the Sydney Olympic Games have put back by a generation the cause of those who want to change the flag. Implicit in this remark is an acknowledgement that a new flag is inevitable. Like the republic, he knows it's not a matter of if but when ...."

Anyone who can read such an 'implicit' meaning in Howard's remarks must have been playing Bingo when the Games opening was taking place. The Murdoch press can be expected to continue its flag and republic campaigns.

Four days before the Scruby article, another paper in the Murdoch stable (The Chronicle, Toowoomba, 2/10) carried an editorial which said, in part: "....If the Olympics have proved one thing, it is that Australia can stand tall as a sporting country, but more so as a mature, confident, multicultural society. Given that, I think the time has come to consider a change in our flag. I have always been cautious of this in the past, but now believe the time has come to do away with the Union Jack in the corner ....."

This is astonishing! Was not Australia "mature" and "confident" before the Games? Of course it was - and is. A large part of its maturity is a grateful acknowledgement of its heritage as it faces the future. In a blazing response to the editorial, Flag Association Branch President Mr. John Brett reminded readers that during Bob Hawke's time, " ....a corporate organisation called 'Austflag' was formed by a few wealthy and powerful people, who were to run a new competition to select a new flag to present to the Australian people. "The new competition, with a substantial sum of money for the winner was held by Austflag and a winner found. Then the new prize-winning flag was presented to Australians, who were asked - via polls - to approve the new design. Well, it was an expensive disaster for they could not even reach a 5% approval rate ...... "After the Republic Referendum last year the approval rate (for the existing flag - ed.) got into the 90% plus area ...."

Six hundred pounding hooves have probably taken it over 100% by now!

WARNINGS FROM ASIAN LEADERS

Australia would do well to heed some timely warnings coming in our direction.
Under the heading CHINA CHIEF: FREE TRADE SET TO DESTROY WEST'S LABOUR MARKETS, The Chronicle (Toowoomba, 19/9/2000) reported: "One of China's top business executives said yesterday trade liberalisation would enable Asia to devastate the labour markets of Western countries. "After listening to fellow speakers in a World Economic Forum (WEF) discussion on marketing to Asian consumers, Shanghai Tang chairman Mr. David Tang said the world should be more concerned about coping with the impact of lower trade barriers to China in their own markets. "'I wouldn't concentrate on the rest of the world's companies selling to Asia. I would watch out, if I were you, about the WTO,' he said .....'I've never understood why you want to engage us - we've got fantastically low labour (costs)' he told the forum. 'China's going to completely devastate your whole labour force. They have labour costs 15 times, 30 times lower than America ....All the stuff you're going to make, we're going to completely destroy in terms of costs,' he said. 'We can make things so much more cheaply than you. I would watch out for your markets being infiltrated by us.'"

Can anyone in the Coalition government (or Beazley's Labor for that matter) hear the astonishingly frank warning given by Mr. Tang?

ANOTHER WARNING

We've just caught up with a speech made by Malaysia's Dr. Mahathir Muhamad on May 5th, 1997, at a meeting of the Southern Africa International Dialogue at Kasane, Botswana. From an Australian viewpoint it was probably the most significant speech made by Dr. Mahathir. After describing globalisation as a form of economic and financial colonialism, with the European Union as an example, Mahathir claimed that Asian nations were a prime target for the global power grab.

He went on: "But we do have the ultimate weapon. People are more mobile now. They can go anywhere. In a borderless world we can go anywhere. If we are not allowed a good life in our own countries, if we are going to be global citizens, then we should migrate North. We should migrate North in our millions legally or illegally. Masses of Asians and Africans should inundate Europe and America. If there is any strength that we have, it is in our numbers. Three-fourths of the world is either black, brown, yellow or some combination of these. We will make all nations in the world rainbow nations. This is how we will ultimately challenge globalisation. I hope we don't have to resort to this. But we will if we are not allowed a piece of the action, a piece of the cake; if we are not allowed to prosper in a borderless world ...."

Again, who among our "representatives" is listening?

CORRUPTION - A WORLDWIDE ISSUE

As we see another government Minister - Peter Reith this time - wriggling like a worm on a hook in an attempt to explain a $50,000 blow out in unauthorised telephone calls, we should consider why there is such an escalation in corruption across the world. The attempts by Auditor-General Baragwanath to bring in accountability during Kennett's days, and the current investigation into vote-rigging in Queensland are other manifestations. Much of it is due to the undisguised bribery of politicians by multinationals.

In France, President Chirac is under investigation for organising and receiving illegal contributions to party slush funds. In Germany, police are investigating more than 2,000 corruption cases a year, many linking politicians and industry leaders. Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl is under a cloud for illegal donations to his party. The news has recently broken that President Clinton has been renting out the Lincoln Room in the White House in return for party funds.

The Guardian Weekly (5-11/10/2000) reported: ".... An initial investigation by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics identified 146 contributors among the 361 listed (the White House withheld the names of 43 'family and friends of Chelsea') who had given a total of $5.5 million to Democratic campaign committees and candidates, including Hilary Clinton. ..... 'What is particularly shocking is that it appears no lessons were learned from the scandals of 1996, and that the current occupants of the White House are using it as a personal trophy and not the peoples' house' ....."

Now comes a report by Transparency International, which examines these issues on a daily basis.
According to The Guardian Weekly (5-11/10/2000): " .... Its Corruption Perceptions Index, which defines the problem as 'the abuse of public office for private gain' ranks 90 countries in terms of the degree of corruption that is believed to exist among public officials and politicians. 'Corruption in Government is rampant in dozens of countries' says this year's report, just published. 'Global corruption has impoverished the Third World - through cartels, transfer pricing and restraints of all description, as well as more conventional bribery and corruption. The situation is so bad that corruption has become a "very real threat to the emerging democracies' ...."

What is the answer? Is it true that todays human beings are worse than in earlier eras? Probably not. Corruption has always existed, and burgeons when restraints are removed. "All power tends to corrupt ...." as Acton said. The answer was applied during Britain's constitutional period. The smaller the government unit, the less tendency for corruption - hence the old advocacy for the decentralisation of power. The added safeguard was the separation of powers, with genuine auditors under the Crown able to check and, if necessary, prosecute offenders. But when government gets bigger, and auditors are beholden to politicians, democracy is put up for sale.

If Lord Acton was right, the greatest corruption the world has ever seen would lie in a global government.

EUROPE IN TROUBLE

STATE LIBERAL MP's 'GO IT ALONE'

by Betty Luks
All is not well in the ranks of the South Australian Liberal Party. Just a few months ago Peter Lewis MP was tossed out of the party for criticising John Olson, the State Liberal Premier. Dr. Bob Such, Member for Fischer, has now resigned from the ranks of the Liberals (after 30 years in the party) complaining the government is too secretive - keeping their own parliamentary members out in the cold. He claims parliamentary colleagues quite often don't know of the government's moves - until just a few minutes before it is announced to the press. He says the Liberal State Government is obsessed with privatisation.

Already struggling to govern with a minority government, Bob Such warned they won't have an easy passage in their bid to push for the sale of the TAB Authority, the Ports Corporation and the Lotteries Commission.

ADELAIDE INSTITUTE DIRECTOR ORDERED TO EDIT WEBSITE

by Betty Luks
Dr. Fredrick Toben, director of the Adelaide Institute, has been ordered by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioner, Kathleen McEvoy, to remove material from his website which questions the Holocaust on the grounds that its main purpose was to denigrate the Jews. (Readers will recall we reported that Mrs. Olga Scully of Launceston, Tasmania, has been ordered by the HREOC to cease in circulating 'anti-semitic' material.)

Dr. Toben has also been ordered to "make a written apology to Australia's Jewish Community" (The Age, 11/10/2000). He is reported to have said he would not obey the Commission's orders, "I shall do nothing, I cannot because I consider the proceedings to have been immoral because truth was not a defence".

He highlighted the fact that the only aspect of the website material the HREOC considered, was whether it had caused hurt feelings, not whether it was accurate. Having spent seven months in a German prison for daring to speak out on a subject that is outlawed in Germany, he has indicated he was prepared to face prison again rather than give up his right to free speech. The Jewish representatives are considering Federal Court action as the next step in silencing Dr. Toben.

LIFE TOUGH FOR TRADITIONAL ENEMIES OF FREE SPEECH

David Irving Comments - from David Irving's website.
YES, life is tough on the traditional enemies of Free Speech in the age of the Internet. How they squirm at the realisation that there is a medium which they do not control! For a long time it irritated me when I heard that people who punched in my name to a search engine got fifty pages of Nizkor effluent before they came to one page of truth. A search of their code revealed no secret mechanisms, then I learned that these enemies used their familiar old one: by paying the search-engine companies, some websites get higher placings on the ratings, i.e. they pop out of the engine first.

Hard work triumphs over evil (and its root, money) however, and our website won an award from an independent company earlier in 2000 as being one of the fifty history-source websites most linked-to on the Internet. As for our meta-tags: they follow standard rules, designed to aid search engines. The engines are clever enough now to weed out all the tricks and devices (like printing the word SEX a thousand times invisibly, i.e. on a background of the same colour). They even weed out more sophisticated tricks.

CORRECTION

ISRAEL STRIKES, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY DECLARES WAR

from Neil Baird's website
Middle East NewsLine - Thursday, October 12th, 2000 - RAMALLAH - Israeli attack helicopters struck Palestinian targets in the West Bank and the Palestinian Authority has declared war. Palestinian Authority officials said that hours after four Israeli soldiers were killed by a Palestinian mob in Ramallah Israeli attack helicopters struck targets in Gaza. They said the police headquarters in Gaza City near the office of PA chairman Yasser Arafat was levelled. Arafat's private home in Gaza was also struck, witnesses said.

PA officials said Arafat has declared war on Israel. At 1550 hours local time [0850 hours EST] PA radio issued a communiqué that declared war on Israel and called on the Arab and international community to help the Palestinians. PA officials said helicopters also flew over the Arafat's headquarters in Gaza as he was meeting with CIA director George Tenet. Tenet had arrived to restore security co-operation between Israel and the PA.

In Ramallah, witnesses said Cobra helicopters targeted PA security installations in the West Bank city some four hours after the Israeli soldiers were killed. The main target appeared to be the police station where the Israeli soldiers were stabbed and beaten to death by a mob. Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah was also targeted, witnesses said. PA radio said five Palestinians were injured in the Israeli attack. The radio urged Palestinians to stay off the streets. Earlier, PA officials denied reports that Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Shaul Mofaz had warned PA commanders that an attack was imminent on security installations in Ramallah. Witnesses said PA radio in Ramallah was also struck.

ANNUAL BASIC FUND

NATIONAL WEEKEND

The National Weekend proved to be an outstanding success. Mr. Jeremy Lee's word-picture of what 'could be' if only Social Credit was practised inspired us all. At the Action Conference he played Ted Patterson's audio-taped report of what really happened at the Crown Casino's World Economic Forum. Ted, we were most encouraged by what you had to say. Others of like mind were there Ted.
Those who came to hear Doctor McDonnell on the Saturday, went out of their way to hear her again the following day. Her whole approach was based on the desire for each person to take control of his or her own health.
Stephen Lloyd dealt with the downside of technology and the effect of electromagnetic energy on the human body.
Betty Luks spoke on another aspect of Social Credit - the importance of Individual well-being in relation to Society's well-being.
The letters thanking us for an inspiring weekend were most encouraging.

Tapes of all the papers are available from MEA Tapes, Box 184, The Basin 3154. Single tape: $10.00 posted. Full set of four tapes: $20.00 posted. Dr. Ziema McDonnell's

Website: For those who want access to Dr. McDonnell's Website: www.nhic.com.au

Please note: the Website will be off the air for about three weeks. Try after that. We will have her books available in the very near future.

FUTURE PROJECTS

A number of projects are now on the drawing board. We must be part of the regeneration process.

First - Booklets for mass distribution: Simple, easy to read explanations of the major issues and subjects for mass distribution. It is envisaged these will take the form of little booklets, easy to read and easy to distribute. Just the thing to offer to that person who is new to 'the conspiracy'. A good tool for actionists.
Second - Social Credit Study Books: An introductory course of aspects of Social Credit. The material produced will be suitable for individual or group study. It will include self-testing sections. This 'home-study' will be very valuable for League actionists wanting to set up an action group. It will be designed to help you understand the importance of the social credit.
Third - An Australian Women On Line (AWOL) website: Travelling around Australia, Betty Luks has had the opportunity to speak with many folk, in particular, many women who are most concerned about the state of the nation and the direction it is headed. Many women see the nation as leaderless, and with their great nurturing instinct, their great concern for their families, they want to give a lead to others. Yet, their feelings of isolation are very real. With this in mind, we are going to set up a website devoted to them and their causes and interests. No matter what the subject, family's health, vaccination, home-education, the wool industry, the sugar-cane industry, any individual initiatives; whatever it might be, we need to know about it, we will publicise it through the website. It will then be available to all who tune in. There will be links to other websites. We want to hear from Australian women on this project.

PALESTINIANS, THE ISRAELI THREAT AND INTERNAL DIVISIONS

The Palestinian Authority has dismissed Israeli threats to launch a military offensive as officials appear divided over their next step in the confrontation against Israel. PA officials ridiculed the Israeli Cabinet's decision to delay an ultimatum issued by Prime Minister Ehud Barak. The officials said that despite his tough rhetoric Barak is being deterred by Arab and Palestinian retaliation as well as international sanctions. "It's very strange you know when somebody tells you 'If you don't become my partner in 24 hours I will kill you,'" PA International Co-operation Minister Nabil Shaath said. "You expect the Palestinians to be intimidated. We want peace with Israelis. But that peace can't come through intimidation."

The PA dismissal of Israeli threats come as a dispute has arisen within the Palestinian leadership. Palestinian sources said the dispute concerns the next step in the confrontation against Israel. Some PA officials want the Palestinians to declare a state unilaterally as they intensify the violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The officials are urging PA Chairman Yasser Arafat that virtually the entire international community, with the exception of the United States, would recognize the state.

PA security chief Mohammed Dahlan said Palestinian security co-operation with Israel is dead. Dahlan told a Gaza news conference on Monday that the PA would continue its resistance against Israel regardless of the price in casualties. "We know that we will pay a price for this resistance in martyrs and injured," Dahlan said.

Over the weekend, Arafat's Fatah party issued a communiqué calling for an increase in attacks against Israel. The communiqué was said to have angered PA officials who said the communiqué was not co-ordinated with the Palestinian leadership. PA officials said they don't rule out renewed talks with Israel. But they said the PA would not stop Palestinian violence against Israel and called for attacks on Jewish settlers. "Every Jewish settler equals a terrorist target," PA minister Hassan Asfour said.

On Tuesday, about 200 Fatah gunmen marched through the West Bank city of Nablus. The gunmen pledged to attack Jewish settlers. Overnight, Israeli and Palestinian gunmen exchanged fire throughout the West Bank. Firefights were reported in Gaza, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Nablus and Kalkilya. Palestinian sources said four Palestinians were killed and 100 were injured over the last 36 hours.

Officials said the PA has embraced the Islamic opposition. On Sunday night, the PA Cabinet convened an emergency session attended by representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. This, as the PA released seven more Hamas detainees. "It was agreed during the meetings to discuss sufficient means to raise the uprising level and to confront the challenges," Hamas spokesman Ismail Abu Shanab said.
(c) MER MID-EAST Realities https://www.MiddleEast.Org

THE WAR WE DON'T READ ABOUT

from The Spectator, August, 2000
In the last 20 months, ever since the United States and Britain launched a blitzkrieg on Iraqi targets following the collapse of the arms inspection mission, over 21,600 US and British planes have flown into Iraqi airspace, dropping bombs or firing missiles on average of one every three days. The British have dropped 81 tons of bombs (150 weapons), a mere fraction of the overall amount. The total number of sorties flown in the decade since the end of the Gulf War is around 280,000. When the Ministry of Defence or the Foreign Office is asked to explain what is going on, the usual 'bromides' are served up. Defence Secretary Geoffrey Hoon insists the bombing campaign is essentially based on the overwhelming humanitarian necessity of 'protecting people on the ground'. "How do you 'protect' people by bombing them?" asks The Spectator.

The real reason Britain is bombing Iraq is that "the Americans tell us to". The foremost ideologue of American-led globalism is Jimmy Carter's former national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski. Not only influential in his own right, his son works for Jesse Helms, Republican chairman of the senate foreign affairs. Journalist John Laughland, Spectator, reveals Brzezinski's book, The Grand Chessboard:American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives, is a "bluntly straightforward plea for the establishment and consolidation of a single world political system under American hegemony." 'Ziggi' Brzezinski believes that American hegemony is unlike any previous hegemony because it is truly global. It is based on an unprecedented mixture of military supremacy, ideological ascendancy, technological innovation and control of the financial system.

NATIONAL DIRECTOR FOR HORSHAM MEETING

PUBLIC MEETING

SYDNEY CONSERVATIVE SPEAKERS' CLUB

ADELAIDE CONSERVATIVE SPEAKERS' CLUB

The next CSC will be held on Monday, November 6th, 2000. Guest speaker will be Mr. Kai Richmond. He now lives in Macclesfield, but grew up in Warrawong. A qualified accountant, Mr. Richmond has worked in Community Aid Abroad, Trades Hall and also the Information Industry. Added to this, he is Webmaster for the Adelaide Institute and mentions he is willing to help anyone set up their own website - especially a 'freedom of speech' site. He will touch on the Greenhouse, Deforestation, Species Decline and in passing will mention Whitlam's Shame, Keating's Betrayal, Ancient Egyptians in Australia and Myths of Whites in New Zealand. With such a 'smorgasbord' every one will go away well 'fed'!

Come along to this Adelaide pre-Christmas CSC and enjoy the friendship and fellowship of like-minded people. Dinner to be served from 6.30pm and the public address commences at 7.30pm. Venue is the Public Schools' Club, 207 East Terrace, (Cnr. Carrington) Adelaide. For dinner bookings phone: 8395 9826. Bookings in by Thursday, November 2nd. After this meeting there will be a break until February 5th next year.